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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26335798">The Start of Something New (Before It All Goes To Hell)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Batsnick75/pseuds/Batsnick75'>Batsnick75</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Start Of Something New [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Last of Us (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 02:47:17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,792</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26335798</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Batsnick75/pseuds/Batsnick75</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Takes place after the game, Ellie comes back to Jackson and Dina doesn't know what to do with Ellie back in town. As what's left of the rattlers comes to take revenge against Ellie for what happened in California, can Ellie start a new family with Dina or will be alone as she goes up against the rattlers one more time? Ellie also has to deal with new threats rising up in Jackson, can she deal with these threats or will she die trying?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Start Of Something New [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1913725</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Jackson</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chapter 1</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ellie walked back to Jackson after visiting the farm. When she saw Dina wasn't at the farm Ellie knew she fucked up big time. She chose revenge over her family and she was paying the price now by being alone. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ellie saw Jackson’s gates and slowly approached because she didn’t know what to expect after being away for 8 months getting revenge for Joel.  Ellie didn’t even know if Dina and JJ were here in Jackson. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Ellie got closer to the gate, the guards on the wall all drew their weapons at Ellie.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“State your name and business!” One guard yelled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ellie Williams! I’m here to see Maria!” Ellie yelled back.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Holy shit! Go get Maria and tell her Ellie’s back!” The guard yelled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Jackson’s gates opened and Ellie walked through and immediately she felt eyes on her as if she was an outsider walking into Jackson for the very first time. Ellie saw Maria jogging to meet her at the gate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Damn Ellie, you really look like shit. We need to get you to the clinic so you can get checked out.” Maria said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No clinic Maria. I’ll be fine.” Ellie said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Just as Ellie said that, she collapsed from the injuries she sustained from the trip to California and the trip back to Jackson. Maria yelled for people to help her with getting Ellie to the clinic immediately.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>                                                                                                                                                 -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dina was working her shift at the clinic when all of the sudden Maria came rushing in with a couple of people carrying a person.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We need a bed now!” Maria yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dina cleared off a bed to help this person Maria brought in. When she went to help she saw who it was and she was shocked. The person in front of her was her ex-girlfriend Ellie. Ellie looked like she had been through hell with cuts on her side that hadn't been stitched and were bleeding and terrible bruises on her arms.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to talk Ellie. Don’t you die on me yet.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually they got Ellie all stitched up and medicated and Dina took a break because she was shocked that Ellie wasn’t dead and Dina thought she was. Dina decided to head home and visit Ellie later when her nerves were calm.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>                                                                                                                                                      -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ellie slowly woke up and found she was in the clinic. Her head was hurting but she saw Maria in the room with.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maria what are you doing here? Where am I?” Ellie asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Jesus kid you scared me. You are in the clinic after you collapsed at the gate. We managed to get you stitched up and medicated. I’ll let the doc know you are awake so we can get you discharged.” Maria said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ellie slowly got up so she didn’t get disoriented from the medication the doc gave her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok kid, got the discharge papers here and i’ll escort you back to your house.” Maria said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Lead the way home.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Maria and Ellie were walking the streets of Jackson as night was beginning to set in which means the residents were slowly getting off the streets and getting ready for the day tomorrow. As Ellie and Maria approached Ellie’s house, they could briefly make out a person waiting for them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah shit, it’s Tommy. Wait here and I’ll deal with him.” Maria said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Tommy walked over to talk to Maria and Ellie, Ellie clenched her hands together knowing what the talk will be about.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Ellie, heard you were back in town.” Tommy said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, just got back from California.” Ellie said nervously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“And? Did ya kill her? Did ya get revenge for Joel?” Tommy said excitedly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I… I couldn’t kill her. It wouldn’t bring Joel back.” Ellie said</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“WHAT THE FUCK ELLIE! I GAVE YOU ONE JOB AND YOU COULDN’T FULFILL IT!” Tommy shouted.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Enough Tommy.” Maria said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“SHE DIDN’T KILL HER! I GAVE HER ONE JOB AND SHE COULDN’T COMPLETE IT!” Tommy yelled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While Tommy yelled, Ellie started to run to get away from the fighting. Her legs were on auto pilot and she went to the cemetery where she collapsed from being disoriented from all the meds.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>                                                                                                                                                    -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dina was going for a late night walk when she heard yelling coming from Ellie’s house. As she went to investigate, she saw Ellie run from her house towards the cemetery. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Guess I gotta follow her” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Dina thought.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Dina arrived at the cemetery, she saw Ellie collapse onto the ground and ran over to help her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ellie! You best not be dead because we need to talk.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Dina helped Ellie up off the ground and carry her, she decided to avoid Ellie’s house considering Tommy and Maria are still having a screaming match and she didn’t want Ellie to be a part of that. So Dina did the next best thing, taking Ellie to her house for the night. They got in through the front door and Dina placed Ellie on her couch in the living room and decided to head to her bedroom to sleep what's left of the night. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dina woke up and could immediately smell something burning so she decided to hurry to the kitchen and see what the hell was burning this early in the morning. When she saw Ellie try to cook and fail, that’s when Dina made her presence known by addressing Ellie.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ellie Williams, we need to talk now.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Healing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ellie and Dina begin healing</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chapter 2</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ellie Williams, we need to talk now.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ellie slowly turned around with a burning pan in her hand and looked at the ground.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Dina, I made breakfast.” Ellie said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dina looked unimpressed as Ellie continued to hold the burning pan in her hand.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll just put this in the sink and let you cook.” Ellie said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dina stood in silence as Ellie put the pan in the sink and let water run so the fire could be put out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to talk Ellie.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ellie looked up from the ground and looked at Dina and for the first time, she saw hurt in Dina’s eyes. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You left Ellie, you left me to raise a child by myself. You left to get revenge in the middle of the night. I asked you to stay and you left. I waited and waited until I realized you wouldn’t come back and that hurt.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m… I’m sorry.” Ellie said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you feel now that you killed her? Do you feel better now that she is dead?” Dina questioned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I found her but she was half dead, she looked different from when she did in Seattle. I rescued her and that kid she had with her but when we got to the beach, I forced her to fight me.” Ellie explained.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Jesus Christ, Ellie.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not done yet. We fought and I had her head underwater and as I was drowning her, I had a flashback of Joel and I realized that he wouldn’t want me to kill her. I wanted to end the cycle of violence.” Ellie said with tears starting to form.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Jesus Ellie. I’m still hurt but kinda proud of how you let her go. Maybe we can fix our relationship.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” Ellie questioned nervously.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, really.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dina saw excitement in Ellie’s eyes after she said that and Dina felt hope that Ellie was returning to normal like she was before Seattle and Joel’s death.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I should probably go home so I’m not intruding in your life.” Ellie said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What if i asked you to stay here for a couple for a while?” Dina asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Only if you really want me to.” Ellie said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t mean it Ellie.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I better go get some of my stuff from my house but I don’t really wanna run into Tommy after what happened last night.” Ellie said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll come with you El, you shouldn’t have to deal with Tommy alone.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>                                                              -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Ellie and Dina left the house to go to Ellie’s house to pick up stuff to take to Dina’s house, they saw Maria in the streets talking to residents. They wanted to grab Ellie’s stuff to take back to Dina’s house. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The patrols for the day were getting ready to leave and Ellie felt disappointed that she wasn’t going on patrol. Dina sensed this and comforted Ellie.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“One day, you can go back on patrol but now we need you to heal both physically and emotionally first.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know but I really want to be on patrol now protecting Jackson from threats.” Ellie said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I know El but your physical and mental health comes first.” Dina explained.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Ellie and Dina got closer to Ellie’s house, the two girls saw Tommy coming out of Joel’s old house and Ellie froze in the middle of the street. Unfortunately, Tommy saw Ellie and Dina in the middle of the street and started to slowly limp towards the two girls.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You brought Dina with ya because you are too scared to come alone.” Tommy said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I brought Dina with me so I don’t do something I might regret.” Ellie </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>replied.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell would you do to me?” Tommy questioned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t wanna get physical with you Tommy so please move out of the way so I can grab my stuff.” Ellie replied.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“A girl like you sure as hell couldn’t deliver a punch to me without hurting yourself.” Tommy said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as Tommy said that, Dina delivered a punch to his face that knocked Tommy down. Maria came running over to find out what was going on.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What the hell is happening here.” Maria questioned the trio.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“We came here to grab Ellie’s stuff and Tommy walked out of Joel’s house and started harassing Ellie and I punched Tommy.” Dina calmly explained.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Maria sighed and helped Ellie and Dina grab Ellie’s stuff while Tommy limped away muttering something about needing alcohol.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks Maria.” Ellie said as she thanked the leader of Jackson for helping them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Not a problem kiddo. In a while I’ll probably swing by Dina’s house to talk to both of you about something.” Maria said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>As Ellie and Dina walked away from Ellie’s house, Ellie caught sight of a guy their age walking around the streets and Dina looked at Ellie’s face and she could tell that Ellie was confused at this guy.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh that’s Nick. He came to Jackson about 3 months ago and has been great in the community. He works at the stables right now.” Dina explained.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t wait to meet him.” Ellie said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Nick’s a little bit of a lone wolf so it’s gonna take a while to get him to talk to you. It took me about 2 months for him to get used to me.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“So wait… Are you and Nick friends or romantically together?” Ellie asked.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Just friends.” Dina said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina walked past Nick and continued on the way to Dina’s house to help Ellie stay with Dina for a while. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>                                                          -</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Nick caught sight of Dina and Ellie in the streets. He was intrigued by Ellie coming back to Jackson when everyone thought she was dead. Nick had a bad feeling something bad was coming back to Jackson and it was gonna get a lot of people killed.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. War's knocking on our doorstep</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chapter 3</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina got back to the house so they could help Ellie set up her room. Dina showed Ellie a spare guest room that would become Ellie’s room. After Dina showed Ellie her room, they both heard a knock on Dina’s front door. When they went to answer, they found Maria already let herself into the house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey you two, I came here to talk to you two.” Maria said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you wanna talk about Maria?” Dina asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There's been reports of a group that's been unidentifiable, I was wondering if you two could help me identify them.” Maria said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, we can try to help.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick captured a guy lurking around the walls and put him in a holding cell. He’s waiting for us at the jail.” Maria said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Ellie, Dina and Maria walked to the jail, Ellie got this feeling that maybe someone was coming to get revenge for everything she had done. The trio reached the jail and saw Nick inside the jail waiting for them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey girls, our friend here has been waiting for you three.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Inside the jail cell there was a man who was sitting on the ground. He was wearing camo pants and a red t-shirt with a body armour vest over it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s just been sitting there muttering something about you Ellie.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Ellie approached the jail cell, the guy slowly got up and turned around so he could look at Ellie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ellie Williams, I remember you from California.” The man said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who the hell are you?” Ellie questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s left of the Rattlers. You almost destroyed us. Williams.” The Rattler said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as Ellie heard he was from the Rattlers, she started to experience a panic attack coming onto her. Dina noticed this and pulled Ellie out of the jail so she can calm down. After the girls left the jail, Nick walked over to the Rattler and grabbed him through the jail bars and pulled him close to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you don’t cooperate with us right now, I will feed you to a horde of infected and I won't regret it. Are we clear?” Nick threatened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do your worst, I've survived a hell of a lot in this world.” The Rattler said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick opened the jail cell and just as the Rattler was about to strike Nick, Nick countered the strike and slammed the Rattler’s head multiple times against the jail bars and then zip tied him and led him outside of the gates. Maria, Ellie and Dina all followed behind Nick as he led the Rattler outside of Jackson to continue the interrogation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                            -</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group of five  was in the woods away from Jackson so they could continue the interrogation without the threat of people listening in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are you taking me?” The Rattler questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Somewhere where we can continue our chat in private.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maria, Ellie and Dina all followed Nick into the woods with confused looks on their faces. Nick has never been this ruthless towards someone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are the rest of The Rattlers?” Nick questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“On their way here. They will destroy any obstacles in their way to get what they want.” The Rattler answered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as Ellie heard that, she became aggressive towards the Rattler.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do the Rattlers want?” Ellie questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They want you dead after what you did in California Williams.” The Rattler answered Ellie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as the Rattler answered that, Nick grabbed his gun and shot the Rattler in the head. Ellie, Dina and Maria were shocked by the sudden turn of events. Unfortunately, the gunshot attracted some infected to the scene.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maria, get back to Jackson. The three of us can hide out while we wait out the horde.” Nick said</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Maria left to get back to Jackson, Nick and the girls went to find a spot to wait out the horde.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You girls know a spot to wait out the horde?” Nick asked Dina and Ellie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There was one spot we found a while back that we waited out a blizzard in.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go. The faster we get there the faster we can outrun the horde.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Ellie and Dina led Nick to Eugene’s old hideout, the horde was starting to catch up with the trio of adults. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to hurry because the horde is right on us.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fuck it, we might as well sprint to the hideout.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trio of adults started sprinting to the hideout with the horde of infected right behind them. Dina, Ellie and Nick all got to Eugene’s hideout and they lost the horde.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the hell are we gonna do with the Rattlers coming to town?” Dina asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We fight them and protect Jackson.” Nick answered.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Preparing for a storm coming our way</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chapter 4</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The horde lost track of the trio and they decided to get back to Jackson.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought I killed every single one.” Ellie talked to herself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick and Dina slowly turned around to look at Ellie after she said that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ellie, what do you mean by that?” Dina questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When I went to California, I encountered the Rattlers and I thought I killed every single one of them.” Ellie explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll figure it out when we get back to Jackson.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the trio of adults walked back to Jackson, Nick was starting to come up with a plan on how to fight the Rattlers. He didn’t know much about this faction but he was willing to protect Jackson and his friends.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I see Jackson up ahead.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the trio of adults got closer to Jackson, Nick became quiet as he was focusing on his plan. Dina and Ellie noticed that Nick became quiet, Dina did nothing while Ellie decided to question it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Everything all right Nick?” Ellie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick looked at Ellie and said nothing. As the trio walked through Jackson’s gates, there was silence among the three adults. Dina, Ellie and Nick were greeted with Maria at the entrance to Jackson. She ran over to the trio and hugged Ellie and Dina since she thought the horde would get them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You three survived the horde.” Maria said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Maria went to hug Nick, he grunted and that let Maria know he didn’t want to be hugged.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina continued to walk together while Nick went his own way to go to his house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m so happy you are back here. JJ will be so happy to have his mama back. ” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie got excited when Dina mentioned JJ. She hadn’t seen him since she left for her revenge trip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where is the potato?” Ellie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“JJ is with his grandparents. I’m so thankful that they would be a part of his life.” Dina explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the couple went to pick up JJ from Jesse’s parents, Ellie was starting to blame herself for leading the Rattlers to Jackson. Ellie saw Maria walk to Nick’s house and was wondering what was going on.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                                                                                                                       -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick got back to his house and took his jacket off and placed it on his office chair. He rubbed his eyes and sat down wondering what the hell he was gonna do about the Rattlers. He was starting to form a plan when all of a sudden a knock interrupted his thoughts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Nick answered the door, he found Maria on the other side of the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Nick, mind if i come in?” Maria asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, come on in.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Maria walked into Nick’s house for the very first time, she got to see how he decorated his house. Nick had acoustic guitars hanging up and old vinyl records hanging on the wall. He also has an old dining room table and the kitchen appliances look like they have seen better times. The oven had rust on it and the microwave door had fallen off. The living room had a record player, a desk and a filing cabinet in the room. Nick lived very basicly and it showed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Nick, the kitchen appliances look like shit.” Maria said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick chuckled. “Trust me, been meaning to have someone come fix it but always keep forgetting.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll have Ellie come out and take a look at everything.” Maria said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick let out a grumble at that since he didn’t want Ellie and Dina to know of the plan that he was making for the Rattlers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds great Maria.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick, I know how your mind runs. I know right now that you are probably making a plan for the Rattlers because you have a plan for everything.” Maria said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick just sat in silence after everything that Maria said. He always had a plan for everything, Nick had a whole folder in his filing cabinet dedicated to plans and contingency plans in case something ever went wrong. Nick even had a contingency plan in case he ever went rouge.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maria walked into the living room and saw the desk light on and saw papers all over the desk and she was right, Nick was making a plan for the Rattlers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick, I need you to hold off on making a plan until we know what we are up against.” Maria explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick continued to sit in silence, not acknowledging what Maria said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick, I’m the only one that knows about your past, I’m the only one that knows your secrets. I’m asking you to please not start a plan.” Maria explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine Maria, you fucking win. I won’t make a goddamn plan.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As night started to approach Jackson, Maria had to leave which means Nick was alone with his thoughts.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Jackson was about to be attacked by the Rattlers, Nick would be the first and last line of defense.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Start of a Dark Path</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nick starts to go down a dark path that he can't turn back from...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 5</p><p> </p><p>Dina and Ellie woke up to knocking on the front door of the house, Nick was waiting impatiently for one of the women to answer the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Jesus, how long does it take for Dina and Ellie to answer the door? I’m fucking freezing out here.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>As Ellie got up to answer the door, JJ started crying.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll deal with the door, you deal with your son.” Ellie said to Dina.</p><p> </p><p>As Dina went to deal with JJ, Ellie went to deal with the door. As she opened the door, Ellie was surprised to see Nick on the other side of the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Jesus Nick, do you even know what time it is?” Ellie questioned.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s 5:30 in the goddamn morning Ellie, you and your estranged girlfriend or wife or whatever the fuck you two are should be awake by now.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>“Nick, can’t whatever you want or need help with wait?” Ellie asked.</p><p> </p><p>“If i could put the Rattlers coming to Jackson on wait, I would be able to fucking sleep at night.” Nick said sarcastically.</p><p> </p><p>“Nick, the Rattlers won’t be here for quite a while. You are just being paranoid about this whole situation.” Ellie said.</p><p> </p><p>“Trust me, I’m not paranoid. I’m being prepared.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>“Then why the hell are you focusing on the Rattlers so much Nick?” Ellie questioned.</p><p>“Because they are one of the many things that could take my happiness away from me.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>“If you focus on the Rattlers too much Nick, you will go down a very dark path that you may not be able to come back from.” Ellie said.</p><p> </p><p>“If I go down that dark path, look in my filing cabinet for a contingency plan on how to take me down.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>“Contingency plans? You have one on everyone you meet?” Ellie questions Nick.</p><p> </p><p>“It doesn’t hurt to be prepared, Williams. I have one on you, Dina, Maria and almost everyone in this town.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>Ellie was shocked at that statement. She didn’t expect Nick to have contingency plans on everyone in Jackson. Dina appeared next to Ellie and Nick went back to his nice persona.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Dina, how’s JJ doing?” Nick asked.</p><p> </p><p>“He woke us up crying. Finally just got him to go back to sleep. Do you wanna come in and have a cup of coffee with us? ” Dina asked Nick.</p><p> </p><p>“Unfortunately I can’t Dina, I have to help Maria out and some plan’s to work on.” Nick said. </p><p> </p><p>Nick left the girl’s house and Ellie and Dina were getting ready to start the day. As Nick walked away, he was coming up with a plan on how to take everything away from the Rattlers and Ellie.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>                                                          -</p><p>Ellie felt uneasy after her conversation with Nick. She thought he was going on a dark path and Nick thought he was doing the right thing. If it came down to Ellie vs Nick, she would fight Nick to protect her family and to protect Jackson. Ellie had to drop JJ off at the daycare center before she went to work at the stables.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>                                                       -</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Dina was leaving the house to go to her shift at the clinic. As she was walking to the clinic, she saw Nick’s house and how he was looking out the window drinking a cup of coffee. </p><p> </p><p>“<em> Weird, it’s like he’s observing everyone.” </em>Dina thought.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Dina stopped looking at Nick’s house and continued to walk to the clinic to work her shift. Dina didn’t know that Nick was watching her and gathering information so he could use that against the couple and take away everything they love and hold dear.</p><p> </p><p>Nick would work with the couple to help them against the Rattlers. Afterwards though, he would be going up against the couple and town of Jackson, Nick would enjoy this. With his immunity to the Cordyceps infection and his plans on how to take everyone down, Nick would be unstoppable.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Wow... Nick's turning into the real villain of this story.  I'm excited to pit Ellie and Nick up against each other and see who will win</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Something Evil is Brewing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nick starts to put his plans into motion. Ellie and Dina continue to work on their relationship.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Chapter 6</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie, Dina and JJ were on a walk around Jackson. The couple were slowly fixing their relationship. It’s slowly getting to where it was before Ellie left for California and her suicide mission.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is nice. Being here with you.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Ellie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes babe, I really love you.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Dina said that, Ellie kissed her on the lips.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How would you rate that kiss babe?” Ellie asked her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“About a 6/10.” Dina replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina continued their walk around Jackson. However on the other side of town, something bad was happening to Maria.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                        -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick and Cat were beating Maria up in Nick’s house. Maria had blood dripping down the side of her face and blood coming out of her mouth. This beating has been going on for 5 hours.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Enough Cat, grab her and put her outside of the wall towards the back. Let’s see if Ellie and her girlfriend can find Maria in time before she dies of blood loss.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cat grabbed Maria and put her over her shoulders and carried her through a hole in the wall to put Maria outside the wall.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Cat did that, Nick was walking to the living room so he could continue to make a plan against the Rattlers and Ellie. He didn’t mind hurting Dina and JJ so he could take Ellie down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>15 minutes later, Cat came back after dumping Maria’s body outside the wall so Dina and Ellie could find it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All done Nick. The bitch’s body has been dumped outside of the wall.” Cat said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now we wait for the happy couple to find her, hopefully before she dies of blood loss.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                         -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina continued their walk outside of the Jackson walls. They dropped JJ off at Jesse’s parents so they could have some alone time. As they reached the back of Jackson, they found Maria’s bloody and lifeless body.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus Christ, that's Maria!” Dina yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dina, go get some help!” Ellie shouted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Dina ran to get help, Ellie cradled Maria’s body. She had an idea of who did this to Maria and she knew it wasn’t the Rattlers. After Dina and help came to help Maria get medical attention, Ellie went to Tommy’s house to see if he could help her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                             -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie walked up to Joel’s old house and knocked furiously. She wasn’t going to go away until Tommy came out and helped her. Finally, Tommy came out and was shocked to see Ellie there.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ellie, what can I help ya with?” Tommy asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maria was attacked and I need your help with revenge.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Maria was attacked?” Tommy questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah and I know who fucking did it.” Ellie said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as Ellie was about to reveal the name, Dina walked up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who was it Ellie?” Dina asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was Nick.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both Tommy and Dina were shocked when Ellie said that.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That bastard will pay.” Tommy said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                           -</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile at Nick’s house, Cat and Nick both received news that Maria was in the clinic. They both acted shocked but deep down they really knew what happened to the leader of Jackson. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s one down.” Cat said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now to take down Dina, JJ and Ellie.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They both smiled and continued to work on the plans to take down the Rattlers and Ellie.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Starting A Battle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nick vs Ellie is starting and the Rattlers come to Jackson</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 7</p><p>
  <span>Nick sat on his porch watching the citizens of Jackson. It has been 2 days since he attacked Maria and Jackson was thrown into chaos. The town didn’t have a leader and Jackson would appoint a leader until Maria recovered from the heinous attack. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick was observing the town so he could find a crack in the foundation and rip it open so he could secure his place as the new town leader. Nick was watching the town marketplace when all of the sudden he saw Tommy Miller at the marketplace. Nick slowly got up and made his way to the market so he could observe Tommy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Little did Nick know, Ellie and Dina were watching his every move.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>                                                          -</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                   1 hour earlier</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick observes everyone in the town. He gathers information so he can make a contingency plan on that person.” Ellie explained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are telling me that Nick stalks everyone to gather intel on them?” Dina asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I always knew something was off about that guy.” Tommy said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick has a contingency plan on me and Dina. He probably has a fucking contingency plan on Tommy as well. I propose we make a contingency plan on him.” Ellie said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That bastard almost killed my wife, I’ll do anything to get back at him.” Tommy said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After the meeting ended, Tommy went to the marketplace to draw Nick out while Dina and Ellie watched him from a far away distance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                            -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tommy was walking around the market when he saw Nick approach the marketplace. Tommy pretended to be invested in some home decorations when Nick approached him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Tommy, I heard about what happened to Maria. Such a shame that happened to our great community leader.” Nick said with a touch of sarcasm.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, unfortunately I'm looking at the guy that almost beat her to death.” Tommy said quietly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea what you are talking about Miller.” Nick said coldly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I was you Nick I would focus on the Rattlers coming to town because after you deal with them, you have to deal with a very pissed off niece of mine.” Tommy said, very calm and collected.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll focus on whatever I want Miller. Tell Dina and Ellie I said hi.” Nick said while looking at the place Dina and Ellie were at.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina were shocked that Nick knew where they were. What the couple didn’t know was that at Nick’s house, Cat was looking out a window watching them and watching their every move.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>While everyone was doing their daily thing, the sound of gunfire rang through the air. Ellie and Dina had shocked looks on their faces. The Rattlers are here, and they will burn everything to the ground.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Battle of The Rattlers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The Rattlers bring a fight to Jackson. Nick, Dina and Ellie defend the community they call home.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chapter 8</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The residents of Jackson were in panic mode. They had no leader to guide them and the Rattlers were here. The children were running around and the guards were going to the armory.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick, Ellie and Dina knew what they had to do. Ellie and Dina ran back to their house to grab their weapons while Nick ran back to his house to grab his weapons.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Rattlers were walking into town shooting at buildings trying to draw Ellie out for a confrontation. The faction were shooting their guns into the air, scaring civilians.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“WE WANT ELLIE WILLIAMS!” One Rattler shouted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick was climbing from rooftop to rooftop with an assault rifle strapped to his back, revolver in his pocket and a bow drawn in his hands. He lined up a shot and took out a Rattler that was all alone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie was crouching around with her bow drawn, she was taking every opportunity to silently take out Rattlers when they were alone or in a group of two.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dina was using her knife since she didn’t have any quiet weapons to use. She wasn’t paying attention though and a Rattler grabbed her and used Dina as a hostage trying to draw Ellie out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ELLIE WILLIAMS, IF YOU DO NOT SHOW YOUR FACE, THIS BITCH DIES!” A Rattler shouted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie looked and saw that the Rattler had a knife to Dina’s throat and he wasn’t afraid to kill her. Ellie drew her bow and started to aim at the Rattler’s head when another arrow hit the Rattler in the head, killing him instantly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie looked up at Nick and saw him happy with himself for killing the Rattler. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, the Jackson guards started fighting back and Ellie, Nick and Dina knew they won the battle against the Rattlers.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An arrow barely missed Ellie’s head and she knew Nick just tried to kill her. When she looked back at Nick’s last known location, he disappeared. Dina was shocked that Nick tried to kill Ellie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The couple knew that this was a warning. The battle with the Rattlers was over but the battle between Nick and Ellie was just starting. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. The War Against Nick Begins</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ellie, Dina and Tommy start to make a plan to take Nick down. Help starts to arrive for the trio to help take Nick down once and for all.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 9</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It has been a week since the battle with the Rattlers and the town of Jackson destroyed the faction. Nick got appointed leader of Jackson until Maria recovered but he wasn't planning to give up that position anytime soon after saving Dina from being killed by a Rattler.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick was going after Ellie and Dina in private because he still had a public persona to maintain. He already started his plan by taking out Maria. Cat left Jackson as she didn’t want to destroy her happiness in another community. So now it was Nick vs Ellie and Dina.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> Nick had to remove Dina from the equation so it could be Nick vs Ellie in a one on one fight because when Ellie has no one to help her, she becomes reckless and Nick could use that to his advantage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                              -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina were formulating a plan to take Nick down once and for all.  Nick was the leader of Jackson and he had the support of the entire community with him. The couple realized this and they were worried about Jackson turning against them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If we start fighting Nick in public, the town will turn against us and we will be as good as dead.” Dina explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Babe your right. We can’t risk Jackson turning against us.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a knock at the door and the couple was worried that it was Nick. When Ellie went to answer the door with her pistol drawn, she was greeted with Tommy on the other side of the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey there kiddo. Don’t shoot.” Tommy said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie relaxed and lowered the gun away from Tommy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You alright Ellie? Never seen you so tense before.” Tommy said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just worried that Nick will show up and kill us.” Ellie explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tommy nodded his head, showing he understood the feelings that Dina and Ellie were going through.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Trust me you two, Nick isn’t gonna show up to your house and kill the both of you.” Tommy said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trio were going to work on a plan to take Nick down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                           -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We must be getting closer.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abby Anderson and Lev were hiking through the woods close to Jackson since she heard that an old friend had turned into a tyrant and took over Jackson.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Abby, where are we going?” Lev asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We are going to help out some people that need our help.” Abby answered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abby and Lev could see Jackson in the distance. They knew that the town would be hostile to them but they were there to help.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go Lev, the faster we get there the faster we can help.” Abby said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                           -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie, Dina and Tommy were still working on a plan when Seth came into the house to talk to Ellie and Dina.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Ellie and Dina, I need you two to come with me to identify someone.” Seth said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina walked out of the house and were walking Jackson’s streets as Seth talked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She showed up with a kid. They were saying they were here to help but they would only talk to Ellie Miller.” Seth explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie immediately knew who Seth was talking about and instantly got worried that she was working for Nick. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trio arrived at the Jail where Abby and Lev were sitting patiently.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ellie Williams, we meet again.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Continuing The Battle Against Ellie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Abby and Lev show up to help. Nick reveals his intentions against Ellie and what one of Nick's big secrets are!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 10</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ellie Williams, we meet again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie was face to face with Abby and Lev. The last time she saw them was in California at the Rattler’s compound.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Abby, why are you here?” Ellie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I heard Nick became a tyrant and took over Jackson. I wanted to help overthrow him.” Abby explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll accept the help Abby but if you attempt to fuck us over, we will not hestiate to kill you.” Dina said coldly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m here to help.” Abby said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie accepted that and allowed Abby and Lev to walk out with her and Dina. The group of 4 were walking back to Ellie and Dina’s house, completely unaware what awaited them when they went to the house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                           -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick watched the trio of Ellie, Dina and Seth leave Dina’s house. Nick was gonna continue his plan and that involved taking Tommy Miller off the board. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick walked up to the house and went into the house through the basement entrance. He didn’t want to risk alerting Tommy and ruining his plan to go after Ellie and Dina. Nick was climbing the stairs to the upper floor when the basement door creaked as he opened it. That put Tommy on alert.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who the hell is in the house?!” Tommy yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick didn’t respond as he didn’t want to give away his position to Tommy. Nick was crouching around the house avoiding Tommy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who the hell is in this house?! Show yourself now!” Tommy yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick got behind Tommy and punched him in the back of the head. Tommy fell to the ground and Nick kept beating on him. By the end of the beating, Tommy was covered in blood. Nick left the house before Elle and Dina came back.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                         -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie, Dina, Abby and Lev all walked into the house and the group found Tommy on the floor bloody. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Dina, take Abby and Lev to the clinic and get help NOW!” Ellie at the trio.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trio left the house and went to the clinic to get help for Tommy. Ellie waited with Tommy until help arrived. Then she went to confront the man responsible for this attack on Tommy, Ellie was on her way to see Nick. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                        -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick was inside his house relaxing when he heard his front door open. Nick started to get up when he saw Ellie standing there with a murderous look on her face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ellie. Can I help you?” Nick asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick. Why are you doing this?” Ellie asked him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Simple, I wanted to take over Jackson and I did. I want to take you down and I will.” Nick explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick, you have beaten Maria and Tommy to a bloody pulp just so you can take over Jackson? Why are you so hellbent on killing me?” Ellie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick just looked at her and then went into his living room. Ellie followed him, not done with the conversation.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick, why are you so hellbent on killing me?” Ellie asked again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When you carved a path of bodies through Seattle, you killed a lot of my friends and I can't live with that.” Nick explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of a sudden, Ellie realized what Nick was talking about. She realized that Nick was WLF.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait a minute, you are WLF?” Ellie asked him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Congratulations Ellie, you finally uncovered the truth.” Nick said sarcastically.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie was shocked that Nick was WLF and he came to Jackson to get revenge against Ellie, Dina and Tommy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You won’t win Nick.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll find out who wins this war, bitch.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie walked out of the living room and was in the doorway when she thought of what Nick would do to Dina and JJ.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Trust me Nick, if you go after Dina and JJ. Nobody will ever find your body, human or infected.” Ellie threatened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll stay away from Dina and JJ. I’m only interested in killing you so when Dina and JJ see your body, they will realize you made a bad decision going to Seattle.” Nick said.</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie left Nick’s house and was going home to start protecting Dina and JJ from Nick. She was going to win this battle and protect Jackson from this tyrant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What Ellie didn’t know was she had backup coming and it was in the form of a person she thought was dead for a couple of years.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m coming back home to help babygirl.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Homecoming</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A character comes home to Jackson and provides Ellie some back up against her battle with Nick</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 11</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m coming back home to help babygirl.” The unknown person said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The unknown person was walking back to his old house that Ellie stepped in shortly after his death. They pulled the hood and Joel’s face came out. He survived Abby’s brutal attack earlier and went into hiding so nobody could harm Ellie anymore.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What Joel didn’t count on was Ellie going to get revenge for his “death”. Now he was back in Jackson to help Ellie with Nick and reunite with his family. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Joel walked around the house and saw that nothing has been touched in over a year. Everything has dust on it and Joel realized that Ellie hasn’t been in the house for over a year. He decided to check Ellie’s house and when he reached the garage, Joel found that her house hasn’t been touched in a year because of the same amount of dust covering everything.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Joel put his hood back on so the Jackson townspeople couldn’t tell Nick. He left Ellie’s garage and went to Dina and Ellie’s house.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                                                            -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ellie, you can’t throw everything to go after Nick.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie was sitting in the living room looking over all the intel Tommy had acquired on Nick before Tommy got sent to the clinic. She was hellbent on stopping Nick before he hurt anyone else in Jackson.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Babe, he doesn’t get to be more important than our family.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If we don’t stop him, he will kill everyone in Jackson.” Ellie explained.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dina joined Ellie on the couch and started looking at Tommy’s intel.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, where do we start?” Dina asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as Ellie and Dina were about to start looking at the intel, they were interrupted by a knock on the front door. Ellie got up and answered it.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we help yo-.” Ellie couldn’t finish her sentence since she was shocked at who was at the door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey there babygirl.” Joel said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                                                           -</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Nick was in his house when he decided to take a walk around Jackson so he doesn’t raise any suspicions with the townspeople. As Nick walked around the town, he was making sure nothing was going wrong in Jackson.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Nick! Want to grab a beer?” One of the townspeople asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t! I’m working right now.” Nick responded.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Nick continued to walk through the town, he saw the patrols for the day getting ready to leave. He decided to walk over so he can assign patrols for the day.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay everybody listen up!” Nick shouted to get people's attention.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After Nick assigned the patrols and the routes, he left the stables and decided to continue his walk around town. As Nick continued his walk through the town, he saw Ellie and Joel’s old house. Nick continued to walk around town as he worked on his plan to destroy Ellie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>                                                         -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Joel?! What the fuck are you doing here and how the fuck are you alive?!” Ellie questioned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dina got up to see what Ellie was talking about and stopped in her tracks when she saw Joel in the doorway.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Joel? We thought you were dead.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry girls. I never should have abandoned the both of you after Abby’s attack.” Joel said.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I went to Seattle to avenge you, I went to California to avenge you Joel. I thought you were dead.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Joel moved to hug Ellie and she accepted the hug. The father-daughter duo continued to hug for a while.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m here now babygirl, what can I do to help?” Joel asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You might want to sit down so we can explain to you everything that has happened.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Taking Out Another One of Ellie's Allies</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nick continues his plan against Ellie and takes out another one of her allies, Joel gets brought up to speed on everything that has happened</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Chapter 12</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So now, Nick has taken over Jackson and rules it with an iron fist.” Dina explained to Joel.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus, he beat Maria and Tommy to a bloody pulp?” Joel asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick put both of them in the clinic. They haven’t woken up yet Joel.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can we go see them?” Joel asked the girls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course we can Joel.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Joel put his hoodie back on so that the Jackson townspeople don’t tell Nick that he came back from the dead.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go see my brother.” Joel said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                             -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick put his cup of coffee down on his kitchen counter. He was getting ready to go after another one of Ellie’s allies. Nick decided to go after Jonas who was close with Ellie and Dina.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick found Jonas getting ready for his daily patrol route. He decided to go with Jonas so he could get him alone.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Jonas, I’m coming with you on patrol today.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Awesome, it will be nice having the leader of Jackson with me today.” Jonas said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What Jonas didn’t know is that Nick had ulterior motives for this patrol today.  He was gonna take Jonas off the chess board today and put him in the clinic with Tommy and Maria. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick and Jonas hopped on their horses and headed out on their patrol route. They arrived at their first destination which was an abandoned outlook overlooking some suburbs. Nick recognized this patrol as the one Dina and Ellie used to take.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Nick, can you sign the ledger?” Jonas asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure, there were no infected right?” Nick asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“None that I could find.” Jonas said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick signed the ledger and continued the patrol route. When they reached the suburbs, they searched the houses for any infected.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No infected in the houses.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s continue the patrol then.” Jonas said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Nick and Jonas continued the patrol route, they reached the supermarket where Dina and Ellie were a year before. Nick decided this is where he was gonna take Jonas off the chess board.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Jonas, can you check out the inside of the supermarket?” Nick asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course Nick.” Jonas said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick and Jonas got off of their horses and approached the supermarket. Jonas put on his mask while Nick got his gun ready.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Nick, it looks like there are no infected in the market.” Jonas said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry Jonas.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of the sudden, two gunshots rang out and one hit Jonas in the chest and the other hit his leg.  Nick quickly sent Jonas’s horse back to Jackson and Nick hopped on his horse to head back to Jackson.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>                                                              -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie, Dina and Joel approached the clinic where Tommy and Maria were.  The trio walked in and saw Tommy and Maria in the same room but on different beds. They were both in medically induced comas so they can recover faster.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus christ, Nick did this?” Joel asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina nodded their heads and Joel became filled with rage. He wanted to get revenge for Tommy and Maria. Just as the trio was gonna leave, they heard shouting from the stables.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jonas’s horse just came back but Jonas wasn’t on it!” One of the stablehands shouted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who was his patrol partner?” Dina asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was Nick, he went with Jonas.” the stablehand said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dina, Ellie and Joel all got on their horses. They were going to find Jonas and Nick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was the patrol route they went on?” Joel asked.’</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They went on the suburbs patrol.” The stablehand said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Joel, Ellie and Dina rushed to find Jonas before Nick did something bad to Jonas.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Race Against Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Ellie, Joel and Dina race against time to save Jonas</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 13</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie, Dina and Joel all raced to the suburbs to rescue Jonas. They were racing against time to find him as he could be dead or dying.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to find Jonas fast.” Joel said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trio raced to find Jonas before some hunters did or worse, the infected found him. They rushed past the houses in the suburbs and continued to follow the horse tracks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They went to the supermarket.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Joel, Ellie and Dina raced to the supermarket. They found blood on the ground outside and followed it into the market. The trio continued to follow the blood and found 3 runners and 1 clicker outside of the market.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Watch it, infected.” Joel warned.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina slowly approached 2 runners to take them out quietly. Joel approached the 3rd runner to take it out and Joel stepped on a tree bench and broke it which alerted the clicker.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah shit, the damn clicker is onto me!” Joel shouted to the girls.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina ran to help Joel with fighting the clicker. Joel was shooting the clicker but he needed backup to help him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Girls? I need your help over here with this damn clicker.” Joel said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dina ran over to help while Ellie climbed on top of a truck to jump on the clicker and stab in it the throat with a switchblade.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now that the infected have been cleared out, we need to find jonas now.” Joel said.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>The trio went into the supermarket and continued to follow the blood and found Jonas laying up against the wall bleeding out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jesus kid, who did this to you?” Joel asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was that backstabbing bastard Nick.” Jonas coughed out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you think we can get you back to Jackson?” Dina asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s no use, I’m as good as dead. I’ll bleed out before I get back there.” Jonas said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll get you home before we go after Nick.” Joel said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Jonas got onto Joel’s horse, the trio decided that they would go back to Jackson. As they approached Jackson, they saw the gates open up for them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jonas has been shot. He needs medical care.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Dina and a group of nurses attended to Jonas, Joel and Ellie went to Abby’s house to talk to her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Abby, I was wondering if you could help us.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ellie, I told you when I arrived here that I was going to help you no matter what.” Abby said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We are gonna need as much help as we can get.” Joel said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Joel Miller, back from the dead I see.” Abby said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Trust me, no hard feelings. I’m sorry for what I did Abby.” Joel said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I understand Joel, you wanted to save Ellie.” Abby said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>‘Guys, now that is out of the way. We are gonna need you and Lev’s help Abby.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can help Jackson as much as we can.” Abby said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                           -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick was on his horse riding back to Jackson. He had dealt with Jonas and was expecting him to bleed out and not make it back into Jackson. Nick rode back into Jackson and put his horse back into the stables. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick was walking back home when he saw Abby Anderson walking towards him. He hadn’t seen Abby since Seattle a year ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Abby, or is it traitor? I’m not sure anymore.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s Abby to you Nick. I see you made yourself at home here in Jackson.” Abby said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Trust me I’m right at home Abby. This place is home to me now.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“After you brutally beat Maria and Tommy almost to death and shot Jonas. Thank god they are all doing okay now.” Abby said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have no idea what you are talking about Abby. I’m glad to hear that Jonas is here and is doing ok.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know we will take you down Nick.” Abby said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t wait to watch you fail.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick walked away from Abby and he decided to head home.  Nick was shaken up that Abby was in Jackson and she was helping Ellie. Things were getting interesting now.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Life at the WLF Stadium</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Flashback to one year ago when life at the WLF stadium was easier than running a community</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 14</p><p>                                                                                                    One Year Ago In Seattle At The WLF Stadium</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Nick woke up from his sleep and his neck was hurting. He slept on the floor while using books as a pillow. Nick cracked his neck and stretched to get rid of the pain. As he walked out of his makeshift room, Nick saw Abby and Manny come out of a room.</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Damn, Manny got their room all to himself last night.” </em>Nick thought.</p><p> </p><p>Nick got to the cafeteria and saw Manny walk over to his father while Abby went to talk to Jordan. He saw Mel and decided to go talk to her.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Mel, what’s going on?” Nick asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, I’m going to the FOB today with Abby and Manny.” Mel said.</p><p> </p><p>“How’s the friendship with Abby going now?” Nick asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I… I still feel guilty about what happened with Joel. He deserved to die but not in the way that he did.” Mel said.</p><p> </p><p>“Trust me Mel, Joel got what he deserved.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>Nick and Mel watched as Manny cut the line to get food for him and Abby. The two friends watched as Abby left for her room to grab her gear while Manny walked towards Mel and Nick.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Mel, we’re getting ready to leave for the FOB.” Manny said.</p><p> </p><p>“Gotta go Nick, wish me luck getting to the FOB.” Mel said.</p><p> </p><p>“May your survival be long.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>“May your death be swift.” Mel replied.</p><p> </p><p>Mel left with Manny and Nick went back to his shared room to grab his gear. As he entered the room, Nick saw Jordan grabbing his gear.</p><p> </p><p>“Damn, is everybody leaving HQ today? Nick asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I got assigned to the damn school today. Isaac wants supplies from there today.” Jordan said.</p><p> </p><p>“Damn man that sucks. That's gotta be a tough job.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>“Isaac is getting everyone ready for this final attack on the Scars.” Jordan said. </p><p> </p><p>“Abby, Mel and Manny are reporting to the FOB today.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>“What about you Nick? Where are you being assigned to?” Jordan asked.</p><p> </p><p>‘I’m being assigned to the hospital. I’m helping pack up the supplies there with Nora’s team. Abby wants me to accompany her to the FOB before I go to the hospital.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>“That might help break up the tension between the two of them Nick.” Jordan said.</p><p> </p><p>“What the hell happened in Jackson?” Nick asked.</p><p>“Joel and his brother came back to the lodge and we killed Joel. Simple.” Jordan said.</p><p> </p><p>“You think Abby sleeps well at night knowing what she did?” Nick asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Honestly, I don’t know if she sleeps at all. I have nightmares over what happened.” Jordan said.</p><p> </p><p>“At least your face is recovering well.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>“That damn kid slashed my face open. I started kicking her and wanted to kill her but Owen stopped me.” Jordan said.</p><p> </p><p>“At least it’s done and over with man.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>“Shit, I have to meet up with Manny and Mel to get ready to leave.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>“May your survival be long.” Jordan said.</p><p> </p><p>“May your death be swift.” Nick said.</p><p> </p><p>Nick left the room to go meet up with Manny and Mel to leave for the FOB. He was nervous because Issac wanted to talk to him, Manny and Abby about the invasion on the scars island, wiping all of them off the face of the earth. </p><p> </p><p>Little did Nick know that Ellie, Dina and Tommy would be showing up in Seattle soon.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. More Attacks In Jackson</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>More attacks in Jackson happen.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 15</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Dina were walking around Jackson, they were getting ready for Christmas time in Jackson. The townspeople were getting ready as well. Nick was nowhere to be seen after the incident with Jonas. The townspeople were starting to become suspicious of Nick.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Ellie, what Christmas tree should we pick for the house? Dina asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was thinking something medium, I don’t want it to be too big or too small.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ok babe.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Ellie and Dina were picking out Christmas trees, Nick was beating someone up again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                                                          -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick was in his house beating up another one of Ellie’s allies. This time it was Ellie’s ex-girlfriend Cat. Nick was whooping her ass due to her abandoning him a week after The battle of the Rattlers. Cat’s body was bloody and lifeless. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick grabbed Cat’s body and carried it outside of Jackson so he could avoid being detected by the guards and the townspeople. Nick left a note with hints for Ellie on where Cat was and hopefully Ellie could find Cat before she died.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>                                                             -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie arrived home before Dina and she saw the note Nick left.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hey there Ellie, if you want to rescue your ex-girlfriend Cat. I suggest you hurry as she is bleeding out beyond the walls of Jackson. If you don’t rescue her, that’s another death on your conscience.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie knew who wrote the note but she had to reach Cat before she died. Ellie quickly put her shoes and jacket back on and raced out of the house. All of the Jackson townspeople quickly wondered what was wrong with Ellie.</span>
  <em>
    
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie was running through the streets of Jackson to find Cat’s body outside the walls of Jackson before she died. If Cat died, Ellie wasn’t sure if she could live with her ex-girlfriend’s death on her conscience. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She slipped through the hole in the Jackson’s walls, and ran through the snow to find Cat’s body. Ellie followed the trail of fresh blood in the snow to Cat’s location. Once she found Cat’s body, Ellie screamed as Cat wasn’t breathing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“CAT!” Ellie screamed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie ran over to Cat’s body and started crying. Ellie stayed there with Cat’s body until Dina, Joel and some townspeople showed up to help her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                          -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Dina arrived home and she saw the note that Nick left. Immediately Dina ran out of the house to catch up with Ellie. Along the way, Joel and some townspeople followed Dina to find Ellie. Dina decided to leave through the gates so she doesn’t give away the secret slip out spot. Dina, Joel and the group followed the fresh blood and found Ellie next to Cat’s body and Ellie was crying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Babe?” Dina said quietly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie didn’t turn around but she still heard Dina’s voice and sniffled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey Dina.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Babe, what happened?” Dina asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie wouldn’t talk to anyone and stayed silent. Dina decided to take charge and get everything moving.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to get Cat to the clinic so we can see if she is alive or dead.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The group grabbed Cat’s body and transported it back into Jackson’s walls. Ellie stayed silent during the transportation and despite Dina trying to talk to her, Ellie wouldn't talk to Dina.  The couple walked back to the house and Ellie remained silent, refusing to talk to Dina at all. Dina knew that Nick was behind the attack on Cat. She kissed Ellie on the head, Dina grabbed a gun and a knife and left for Nick’s house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                              -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick was in his house making a cup of coffee when he heard his front door open. When Nick reached his front door, he found it open a crack but no one was near it. All of a sudden, he heard a gun and Nick spun around quickly and came face to face with Dina.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really wanna kill me Dina? How would that look if you killed the leader of Jackson?” Nick asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dina remained silent while aiming the gun at Nick’s head. Nick decided to continue to taunt her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Imagine when JJ grows up and he hears that his mom killed the leader of Jackson in his own house.” Nick taunted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At least the town will be better off without your ass.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dina shot at Nick but missed him, Nick dodged the bullets and quickly disarmed her but he was caught off guard when Dina slashed his arm and the side of his stomach with the knife.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YOU BITCH!” Nick yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dina tried to run out of Nick’s house because Dina knew that she was outnumbered and outpowered. Just as Dina reached the front door, a knife was thrown into Dina’s injured shoulder where Lev shot his arrow in Seattle. Dina cried out in pain and slipped through the front door before Nick could reach her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now Dina had to get home with a knife in her shoulder.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Dina Escapes From Nick</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>After the attack at Nick's house, Dina escapes</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>Dina stumbled through the empty streets of Jackson with a knife lodged in her shoulder. Blood was running down her arm the inside of her t-shirt soaking it. She quickly moved away from Nick’s house and attempted to remove the knife but the pain proved to be too much for her.  Dina reached the gate of her house and unlatched the gate. Dina was in too much pain to close it and was focused on getting inside of her house.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Come on, I can’t give up. I won’t. I’m almost home.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dina thought. Her body started to decide anyways, causing her to nearly lose her balance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Getting up to the porch was more difficult than Dina thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“One more step to go, then I'm almost inside.” Dina said to herself.  She slipped on the last step, slamming her head and her shoulder hard onto the porch. When Dina fell onto the porch, the knife went deeper into her shoulder and made it bleed more.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All Dina could hear was her name, before passing out due to the pain of her injury.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dina!!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dina!!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                                                                -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie was busy washing dishes when she heard something fall on the porch. When Ellie reached the porch, she saw Dina had fallen on the porch with a knife deep in her shoulder. Ellie ran over to where Dina was and saw where the knife was, it was in her injured shoulder that Lev shot an arrow at a year ago in Seattle. Ellie quickly grabbed Dina and brought her into the house so she could give Dina medical attention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t die on me Dina.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie slowly pulled the knife out of Dina’s shoulder while making sure that she wasn’t causing Dina anymore pain. After Ellie pulled the knife out and applied pressure to the wound. Once the wound was stabilized, Ellie picked up Dina in her arms and carried her to the clinic. After DIna was admitted to the clinic for her wounds, Ellie decided to pay the man responsible for all of this a visit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                                                         -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick was cleaning up his altercation he had with Dina when all of a sudden Ellie kicked in his front door and popped out a switchblade that she had found in Dina’s house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why did you attack her?” Ellie questioned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She attacked me first Ellie. She snuck into my house and shot at me. I disarmed her and she slashed at me with a knife. She tried to escape my house but I had to teach her a lesson. I threw the knife at her and I’m impressed I actually hit my target.” Nick said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You son of a bitch, you will pay for this.” Ellie said coldly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can try Ellie.” Nick replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie left Nick’s house and went home so she can visit Dina in the morning and expose Nick to the Jackson community.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. The Beginning Of Nick's End</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nick's downfall starts and the battle of Jackson begins</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Ellie woke up from her sleep and it felt weird without having Dina in the bed. She had to get ready to visit Dina in the clinic so they could expose Nick to the Jackson community. Ellie threw on a random outfit she had in the closet and made her way to the clinic. When Ellie got to the clinic, she saw Joel waiting for her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey there babygirl, you here to check on your girl?” Joel asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Nick brutally attacked her last night and we plan on exposing him today. Why are you here Joel?” Ellie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Tommy, Maria and Cat have all woken up from their comas. I wanted to see them so we could expose Nick.” Joel said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie and Joel went into the clinic and Ellie went to see her girlfriend while Joel went to see the people that have woken up. When Ellie got to Dina’s room, Dina was already dressed and talking to her doctor who had already discharged her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please Dina, take it easy for the next couple of days.” The doctor said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No promises doc. I can’t exactly take it easy due to my job.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doctor sighed and left the room. Ellie walked in and stood eye to eye with Dina.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How are you feeling today babe?” Ellie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m feeling a hell of a lot better than I did last night.” Dina replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tommy, Maria and Cat are awake if you want to visit them. Joel’s here so we can expose Nick today.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s make that bastard pay for everything he has done.” Dina replied.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dina and Ellie left the room and walked to the other side of the clinic to where Joel was.</span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>                                                          -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When the couple reached the three beds, they saw Tommy, Maria and Cat all dressed and ready to go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You three sure are a sight for sore eyes.” Ellie commented. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tommy, Maria and Cat all rushed to hug Dina and Ellie. Tommy waved Joel over so he could get in on the group hug that was taking place.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to take Nick down and strip him from power immediately.” Ellie said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rest of the group agreed with her and everyone left the clinic. When they passed by the townspeople, everyone was shocked that Tommy, Cat, Dina and Maria were back in action.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Listen up everyone! I’m calling a town meeting right now to talk about the leader role and the man that is currently occupying it!” Maria yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The whole community heard this and rushed towards the gates so they could have this meeting. Nick heard this too and he was not impressed.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>                                                                -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And that is why we believe he should be removed from a position of power.” Dina said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The community of Jackson had heard all of the stories from Tommy, Joel, Abby, Maria, Cat, Ellie and Dina. The crowd’s opinion of Nick was becoming increasingly hostile by the minute. They wanted Nick stripped of power immediately. Nick did not offer any defense for himself which upset the crowd even more.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick, you are stripped of your position as Jackson’s leader.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick wasn’t fazed at all by losing his position of power, he didn’t care at all. Nick was now more focused on taking out Ellie and getting his revenge for all the destruction she caused in Seattle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick, do you have anything you would like to say?” Dina asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Fuck all of you.” Nick said coldly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of the sudden, Nick pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Ellie, the crowd ran in fear due to not being prepared for this attack. Nick shot two bullets towards Ellie but Joel jumped in front of the bullets.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“JOEL NO!” Ellie screamed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick put his gun back in it’s holster and took off running. Ellie crouched down to Joel and that’s when he revealed that he managed to find an old bullet proof vest.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m ok babygirl.” Joel said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie muttered a thank god and helped Joel up to his feet. Now they had to stop Nick before he went on a killing spree in the town. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m splitting us up into pairs. Abby, you are with Maria. Tommy, you are with Joel. I’m with Ellie.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Everyone agreed with their pairings and were ready to take Nick down.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now, let’s take this son of a bitch down.” Ellie said.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Preparing for a fight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nick gets ready to fight Ellie in the battle between the two of them</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 18</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick was running through the town of Jackson, he just shot Joel and was avoiding being killed by Ellie. Nick ran into his house and pushed a chair up against it to avoid Ellie or the townspeople from entering his house. He ran upstairs to access his armory. The next thing Nick knew, he heard shouting from outside his front door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“NICK, GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE NOW!” Tommy yelled.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick continued going through his armory, he was bound and determined to win this war against Ellie. As he found the weapon he wanted, a 12 gauge shotgun. Nick strapped the shotgun over his shoulder and climbed out his upstairs window and landed on the ground. After he jumped out his window, he heard his front door broken down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick ran around the corner with his shotgun drawn and he saw Abby and Maria run past him. Nick knew the whole town was on lockdown and was searching for him. He had to avoid the search parties and kill Ellie so he could end his personal war against her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                                  -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick was doing a good job to avoid the patrol parties searching for him and wanting to kill him after he shot Joel. The townspeople were searching for him too so they could deliver him to the search patrols. As Nick rounded another corner, he saw Cat all by herself.  When Nick approached her, he stepped on a stick and alerted Cat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick, you son of a bitch.” Cat said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cat let off a gunshot and Nick quickly dodged the bullet. He speared Cat through a house window and ran around the corner so he could surprise Cat. Cat slowly got up after being speared through the window and was being cautious as she knew that Nick was dangerous in hand to hand combat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cat walked around the corner Nick ran around and Nick met her with a punch to the nose. Cat pistol whipped him and left a mark. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You bitch, you will pay for that.” Nick said coldly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick leaped for Cat’s leg to take her down but Cat grabbed a glass vase and threw it at Nick’s chest stunning him. Cat continued to pistol whip Nick but Nick turned the tables on her and hit her with the end of his shotgun. Cat stumbled into the living room of the house and Nick continued to beat on Cat until someone came to save her, Ellie Williams.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. The Battle of Jackson, Nick vs Ellie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nick and Ellie finally fight in the battle of Jackson</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1>
  <span>Chapter 19</span>
</h1><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie Williams.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was Nick vs Ellie. The battle of Jackson was here and these two would finally end this battle. Ellie stood in the doorway with her machete drawn. Nick had his shotgun drawn. Both of them ran at each other and Ellie got a slash in on Nick while he got a hit with his shotgun in on Ellie. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick was holding his stomach where he got slashed with the machete. Ellie was holding her head where she got hit with the shotgun. Nick ran out of the house while Ellie gave chase. Ellie chased Nick to Seth’s diner in the middle of town. Nick got in there first and hid while Ellie hunted for him in the diner.</span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick moved around corners while Ellie was looking for him. When Ellie got into a position for Nick to attack her, he took it. Nick slammed Ellie’s head down on a table and picked her up again and threw her through another table. After Ellie landed, Nick picked her up by her hair and threw her up against a mirror that was on the wall. Ellie slowly got up and Nick threw her through a diner window back to the outside.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Nick staggered outside when Dina ran behind him and hit him with a baseball bat she found in a house. The bat cracked over his head and NIck went down to the ground and Nick grabbed his head. Dina continued to beat on Nick until he headbutted her and kicked her off of him. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>                                                              -</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ellie slowly got up and saw what happened to Dina and became enraged. Nick looked over at Ellie and saw the look on her face. She charged at Nick but Nick kneed Ellie in the face and took off running. Ellie got up and checked on Dina who was out cold. She then started chasing Nick.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN’T HIDE!” Ellie shouted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie continued to follow the path Nick took when she saw him climb the stairs that lead to Jackson’s guard wall. Ellie ran up the stairs and continued to chase Nick. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She caught up to Nick on the wall. He was holding his shotgun and not even looking at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s over Nick! You are surrounded!” Ellie shouted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The townspeople of Jackson were on the ground and watching Ellie and Nick closely to find out who was gonna make the first move. Nick dropped his shotgun and Ellie dropped her machete. They both moved closer to each other until they were in each other's faces. Nick spat at Ellie and punched her square in the face. Ellie retailed by kicking Nick in the stomach where she slashed him with her machete.  </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Nick crawled away while Ellie continued to move toward him. Nick tried to kick Ellie but she simply avoided the kick that Nick threw. Ellie stomped on Nick’s back which caused him to cough up blood. Nick got up and weakly threw a punch but Ellie sidestepped it. She punched Nick multiple times and grabbed Nick’s shotgun and hit him with it. Ellie was about to kill Nick when Joel stepped in.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s enough kiddo. He’s been through enough.” Joel said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He needs to pay Joel. Nick put me and my family through hell Joel.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Trust me Ellie, we will make sure he gets the proper punishment.” Maria said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie met up with a bruised Dina and JJ and they went home, waiting for the day Nick would get his proper punishment. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. 1 Month Later</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>1 month after the battle of Jackson</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <h1>
  <span>Chapter 20</span>
</h1><p> </p><p>
  <span>                                                       1 Month Later</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie woke up and realized that Dina wasn’t on her side of the bed. She slowly got ready before she realized what today was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Holy shit, today is the day Nick gets his punishment.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Ellie thought.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie quickly got dressed and ran down the stairs. Dina was getting ready for what was about to happen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where’s JJ today?” Elie asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s with Jessie’s parents for the day. They wanted to spend some time with him and with what is about to happen today I’m happy he ain’t here.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie put on a warm jacket and pair of boots while Dina did the same. The couple walked together to the church which is a makeshift courthouse. Dina and Ellie got front row seats to what was about to happen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick was brought out and he was zip tied and held at gunpoint by Tommy, Abby and Joel. The town of Jackson wasn’t taken any chances today.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nick, after your crimes a month ago and all the destruction you caused. I am here by throwing you into a prison cell.” Maria said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nick didn't say anything and just stared at Maria. The crowd cheered at Maria’s sentencing and Ellie and Dina cried because the man that put their family through hell was finally being punished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Abby, Tommy and Joel turned Nick around and when he turned around, he saw Dina and Ellie sitting front row. He decided he was gonna threaten them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When I get free from this prison, I am coming after the two of you.” Nick threatened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ellie got up and punched Nick right in the face which gained massive cheers from the crowd. After that, Abby, Tommy and Joel continued to move Nick along after he threatened Ellie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You alright babe?” Dina asked Ellie.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, might have broken my hand though.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are we going to do about Nick? You heard the threat he made.” Dina said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We will deal with him when the time comes.” Ellie said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The couple got up from their seats and kissed each other. They were ready to deal with anything life threw at them.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
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